Final Flight: Downers Grove South alum, pilot flown home for memorial services

It was his final flight, though this time he was not the pilot.

Family and friends gathered to watch the plane bring Joseph Aaron Ermel home from Carbondale after his death last week in southern Illinois.

Ermel, 19, a Downers Grove resident, was involved in a motor vehicle accident Oct. 27 and died from his injuries. A fellow pilot, Edmundo Aillon Sr., offered to bring him home, escorted by Ermel’s grandfather, Arnie Zimmerman; mother, Aymee; and brother, Josh. Aillon, a captain with United Airlines, was Ermel’s first flight instructor.

Ermel had a love of flying starting from an early age, said Darren Lilja, president of the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 15 in Romeoville.

“Joey has been around aviation since he was young,” Lilja said.

Ermel’s grandfather also is a pilot. The two would fly together and work on planes. Zimmerman is known for his Breezy, an open-air cockpit airplane he flew.

Ermel celebrated his 16th birthday with his first solo flight and earned his pilot’s license days after turning 17.

Lilja said it was common to see pilots of all ages sharing stories and knowledge and, above all, talking about their love of flying. Ermel was the first recipient of the Ray Aviation Foundation Scholar for the EAA Chapter 15.

“He was meant to fly. He was a bright kid,” Lilja said.

In a Facebook post, friend and fellow pilot Chad Carlson shared his memories of Ermel.

“Joe was a truly amazing young man,” Carlson said. “He loved flying with his grandpa and family in his grandpa’s Aeronca Champ, and he was always pushing his mom to finish her pilot certificate. He soloed an airplane on his 16th birthday, was EAA Chapter 15′s inaugural Ray Foundation Scholar, earned his private pilot certificate shortly after turning 17, and returned to fly Young Eagles with EAA Chapter 461 while the ink was still wet on his newly issued certificate.“

Ermel, a 2020 graduate of Downers Grove South High School, was a sophomore at Southern Illinois University and a member of the Flying Salukis flight team. He was on the dean’s list. He worked at Southern Illinois Airport.

Pilots from across the region will fly in to pay respects to Ermel with a memorial fly-over reception at Bolingbrook’s Clow International Airport on Nov. 6. Lilja said the flying community is small and many people knew Ermel and his family and Ermel’s flying talents.

The family will have a memorial service from 2 to 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at Modell Funeral Home, 7710 S. Cass Ave., Darien, that will include a candlelight vigil.